New Delhi: The wine industry expects a normalised domestic macro environment to come as a boost in the current fiscal after suffering setbacks in 2024-25, which saw urban consumption slowdown and growth taking a “temporary pause”, according to the annual report of Sula Vineyards Ltd.
The impact of urban consumption slowdown was more ‘stark’ on the wine segment versus other AlcoBev categories, as it is a predominantly urban drink, according to the report.
The wine demand was also impacted by multiple temporary regulatory and other market disruptions, including general elections and state elections in key markets such as Maharashtra, Sula Vineyards Founder and CEO Rajeev Samant said in the report.
“After 3 years of strong growth, FY25 was more a year of demand reset for the Indian wine industry,” he said, adding, “But the good news is that these setbacks are now behind us as we look forward to a more normalised domestic macro environment going into FY26.” However, despite challenging market conditions for the wine industry, Sula reported its highest ever revenue from operations at Rs 619.4 crore in FY25.Central Coalfields To Add Two New Coal Mines This Fiscal, Targets 10–12 MT Annual Capacity Boost: CMD Nilendu Kumar Singh
“We continued to consolidate our leadership position, being by far and ahead the largest wine brand in the country,” said Samant while addressing his shareholders.
According to Samant, “now the worst is behind us” and “optimistic of seeing better traction and growth in FY26 with positive triggers and expansion plans in our Own Brands and Wine Tourism businesses further supported by the normalisation of the macro environment expected soon.” The company aims for “accelerating earnings Growth over the next 3 years (FY25-FY28) with improved EBITDA margins and capital efficiency”. This will be helped through initiatives such as product development, expansion of its capacity, market Penetration, Wine Tourism and D2C Business.
It is “on-track to expand Cellar capacity by 1 Mn Litres to total capacity of 19.2 Mn Litres per annum by the end of FY26”.
Samant also pointed out that the wine culture is evolving and spreading across India outside its top two markets, which is encouraging.SpiceJet Ordered To Pay ₹25,000 For Issuing Wrong Ticket To Senior Citizen After Flight Cancellation
“Our domestic Own Brand sales, excluding Maharashtra and Karnataka, grew by 8 per cent YoY, powered by a total of 11 states registering healthy double-digit growth. This fits in well with our endeavour of creating a truly pan-India penetration,” said Samant.
India’s wine market is valued at approximately USD 150-200 million (including both domestic and imported wines), with more than 3 million cases being sold annually.
“Wine is still in a nascent stage in India, accounting for <1% of the Indian AlcoBev market and the per capita consumption of wine in India too is less than 50 ml as compared to the world average of 5.5 litres,” the report said.
Therefore, there is a vast scope for the wine sector to grow and expand in India.Mcap Of Top Firms Swells By ₹1.62 Lakh Cr, Airtel & Reliance Lead Surge
“Going forward, the Indian wine market is expected to grow at 15 per cent CAGR over CY 2023-2028 led by the increasing prosperity and disposable income, rapid urbanisation, evolving consumer preferences and increase in the number of working women and women drinkers,” the company said.